(world, ethnic, folk, indonesian) VA - Radio Sumatra: The Indonesian FM Experience (2004) (MP3, 128 kbps)

High-rotation pop songs, aggressively loud advertisement and inane chatter from hyperactive DJs -- FM radio can be a gruesome experience if it is targeted at you. But listening to FM radio from another country (in another language and addressing another culture) can be very dizzying and interesting, for despite all the differences, the format remains eerily the same. And that's what Radio Sumatra: The Indonesian FM Experience has to offer: exoticism that sounds disturbingly familiar. That, and a crude and revealing look at modern Indonesian pop culture. Alan Bishop has assembled excerpts from over 60 cuts lifted from the FM airwaves of the major Indonesian cities in the summer of 2004, producing a schizophrenic collage of cross-cultural hits and bits of local wisdom that highlights the kaleidoscopic variety of the media in Indonesia. The sampling platter includes local pop, rock, dance, metal, hip-hop, and jazz tunes, all bearing the strong influence of the Western music world, yet still firmly rooted in the local culture, a culture that is itself a blend of Asian and Arab influences. Western songs occasionally pop up, like a few measures from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," but those are only used for context. Some artists are clearly emulating Western idols (a striking Celine Dion soundalike in "Dagdut Is the Music," for example), but most of the tracks selected emphasize the cultural uniqueness of that part of the world. The segments of chatter, news, weather, station IDs and ads show how much FM radio is cast in the same mold, no matter what country you live in, but some oddities have been included -- which won't be revealed here, for they add spice to the listening experience. Radio Sumatra is considerably more varied and frantic than what you are likely to hear on a single station, but zapping was Bishop's main point here, and his collage paints a vivid aural picture. ~ Franзois Couture Recording information: 07/2004-11/2004. Editor: Alan Bishop.